Related papers: Using Astrometry to Break Degeneracies in Stellar …
Context. The characterization of exoplanets requires a good description of the host star. Stellar activity acts as a source of noise which can alter planet radii as derived from the transit depth or atmospheric characterization. Aims. Here,…
We use high resolution numerical simulations to study whether gravitational instabilities within circumstellar discs can produce astrometrically detectable motion of the central star. For discs with masses of M_disc = 0.1 M_star, which are…
Astrometry -- the precise measurement of positions and motions of celestial objects -- has emerged as a promising avenue for characterizing the dark matter population in our Galaxy. By leveraging recent advances in simulation-based…
In recent years, gravitational lensing has been used as a means to detect substructure in galaxy-sized halos, via anomalous flux ratios in quadruply-imaged lenses. In addition to causing anomalous flux ratios, substructure may also perturb…
We present the results of numerical experiments to assess degeneracies in lightcurve models of starspots. Using synthetic lightcurves generated with the Cheetah starspot modeling code, we explore the extent to which photometric light curves…
High precision photometry as performed by the CoRoT and Kepler satellites on-board instruments has allowed to detect stellar oscillations over the whole HR diagram. Oscillation frequencies are closely related to stellar interior properties…
The ubiquity of M dwarf stars combined with their low masses and luminosities make them prime targets in the search for nearby, habitable exoplanets. We investigate the effects of starspot-induced radial velocity (RV) jitter on detection…
The stable environment of space makes HST an excellent astrometric tool. Its diffraction-limited resolution allows it to distinguish and measure positions and fluxes for stars all the way to the center of most globular clusters. Apart from…
Asteroseismology is the study of the interior physics and structure of stars using their pulsations. It is applicable to stars across the Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram and a powerful technique to measure masses, radii and ages, but also…
Manifestations of stellar activity (such as star-spots, plage/faculae, and convective flows) are well known to induce spectroscopic signals often referred to as astrophysical noise by exoplanet hunters. For example, setting an ultimate goal…
In helioseismology, there is a well-known offset between observed and computed oscillation frequencies. This offset is known to arise from improper modeling of the near-surface layers of the Sun, and a similar effect must occur for models…
The abilities of radial velocity exoplanet surveys to detect the lowest-mass extra-solar planets are currently limited by a combination of instrument precision, lack of data, and "jitter". Jitter is a general term for any unknown features…
Astrometry is one of the main pillars of astronomy, and one of its oldest branches. Over the years, an increasing number of astrometric works by means of Hubble Space Telescope (HST) data have revolutionized our understanding of various…
An extra-solar planet can be detected by microlensing because the planet can perturb the smooth lensing light curve created by the primary lens. However, it was shown by Gaudi that a subset of binary-source events can produce light curves…
Accurate knowledge of the telescope's point spread function (PSF) is essential for the weak gravitational lensing measurements that hold great promise for cosmological constraints. For space telescopes, the PSF may vary with time due to…
We give an assessment of the significance of various known effects which may produce genuine fluctuations of star positions comparable to or larger than Gaia's measurement noise, and which thus may limit the ultimately reachable precision…
Asteroseismology allows us to probe the internal structure of stars through their global modes of oscillation. Thanks to missions such as the NASA Kepler space observatory, we now have high-quality asteroseismic data for nearly 100…
Our knowledge of the dynamics of stars has undergone a revolution thanks to the simultaneous large amount of high-quality photometric observations collected by space-based asteroseismology and ground-based high-precision spectropolarimetry.…
Modeling the amplitudes and shapes of the X-ray pulsations observed from hot, rotating neutron stars provides a direct method for measuring neutron-star properties. This technique constitutes an important part of the science case for the…
The Closeby Habitable Exoplanet Survey (CHES) is dedicated to the astrometric exploration for habitable-zone Earth-like planets orbiting solar-type stars in close proximity, achieving unprecedented micro-arcsecond precision. Given the…